cranberry wine question?

[Bossbaby]

would skipping the 1 lb per gal of raisins in my recipe make a large difference in the final flavor, and would using tannin powder give the wine what the raisins would have done for it? any thoughts would be great.. Thx

 

[Rice_Guy]

The purpose for tannin is to make the flavor complex and bind proteins. Opinion ,, cranberry already has long flavor notes so it doesn’t really need tannin for complexity. Some will add blanc soft for binding oxygen (Scott labs)

The purpose for raisins is to add solids so that there is enough sugar/ mineral/ buffering for the yeast to grow on. If you skip this then I would add a balanced yeast nutrient as Fermax (not DAP which is just nitrogen) and some CaCO3. . Cranberry has high acid (2019= TA 3.26/ pH 2.69/ 1.038) so most folks are fighting the acid.

 

[Vinobeau]

would skipping the 1 lb per gal of raisins in my recipe make a large difference in the final flavor, and would using tannin powder give the wine what the raisins would have done for it? any thoughts would be great.. Thx

I've never added raisins to Cranberry wine. When I use fresh berries, I don't add tannin. When I use canned berry sauce, I do add tannin. The first batch of Cranberry wine was in 1976. IMO, raisins don't add much flavor, just a bit of body, especially in something like Cranberry.

 

[David Violante]

@Bossbaby What kind of yeast will you be using? I’ve read a bit of variety here: EC1118, Montrachet, K1-1118V... has anyone used QA23 or is there some other type that works well with low pH? I’m looking to make one as well for the holidays and curious what folks are using~

 

[Vinobeau]

I've used Premier Cuvee, D47, Montrachet, and K1-V1116. In 2008, I made two identical batches, one with K1-V1116 and the other with Premier Cuvee. There was a difference, but I couldn't pick a preference, so I combined them after 6 months.

 

[Raptor99]

I am using K1-V1116. It is supposed to be good for dark berries. This is my first time making Cranberry wine, so I'll see how it turns out.

 

[Bossbaby]

I have one 2 gal batch using EC 1118 and a 6 gal batch using 71b, I only added half the raisins in the 6 gal batch so I will see if it makes a difference, I plan on adding an Allspice and mulling spice tea mixture in secondary for a warm Christmas wine. My nearest walmart dropped the price to 25 cents per fresh bag of cranberries so I had to Capitalize on that deal one way or another...

 

[Raptor99]

My cranberry wine is quite acidic. Next time I might try using 71B because it will metabolize 20-30% of the malic acid. Cranberries are fairly high in malic acid, so that should help.

 

[Vinobeau]

My cranberry wine is quite acidic. Next time I might try using 71B because it will metabolize 20-30% of the malic acid. Cranberries are fairly high in malic acid, so that should help.

Please prepare two or three identical batches with different yeasts if you really want to know the difference that the yeasts make. Do it with the same batch of berries, so that you can have controls. That is the only way that you can tell the difference! Yeaar to year and bog to bog, the berries can be different! And if you believe that the yeast can play an important part, test them!

 

[David Violante]

Thank you folks... It looks like I'm going to try K1-V1116 because of the nutrient needs, but I'm interested in the properties of 71B and acidity. I'll probably split the batch and do both, then try them afterwards and probably mix if they are similar.

Thanks @Bossbaby for starting this, I'm interested in how yours turns out... did you happen to measure the pH of your musts at the start?

 

[dmw_chef]

I'm starting a no-water cranberry melomel today (cranberries and honey, no additional water). I'll be using Exotics Mosaic and targeting 450PPM YAN (in addition to any YAN provided by the fruit) using Ferm-K, DAP, and Stimula Cabernet (a ferm-o analogue designed to amp up fruity ester synthesis).

A friend has told me that he wasn't happy with 71b for his cranberry mels.

 

[Raptor99]

A friend has told me that he wasn't happy with 71b for his cranberry mels

Did he say why he wasn't happy with it?

 

[dmw_chef]

"It just wasn't enjoyable. The flavors didn't really meld together properly."

 

[Bossbaby]

I ordered a new digital ph tester yesterday specifically for these batches of cranberry, I wont trust litmus with such a dark red juice. I'll post the results once I get them @David Violante